Garth Brooks Reveals Why He May Not Perform at the 2018 CMA Awards

Garth Brooks was planning a very special performance for the 2018 CMA Awards, but now it looks like he might not be performing at all.

During a press conference on Wednesday (Oct. 17) during which Brooks announced his upcoming stadium tour, the "All Day Long” singer was asked if he will be taking part in the CMAs on Nov. 14. While he did say that he and "the Queen" (wife Trisha Yearwood) will attend, a musical number from the country icon is still up in the air.

Brooks explains that he recently cut a new ballad that he's really excited about.

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"I won’t play it for anybody else because it’s a song, you’re not going to believe it’s written by guys, it’s a song about the strength of a woman. And for me, that’s Trisha," he says.

"So, what I offered to the CMAs was, ‘Let me sing this to her that night. She hasn’t heard it and she won’t hear it until that moment, nobody will,' he continues. "They’ve been very sweet. They kinda came back and said, ‘Hey look, something new that’s a ballad probably doesn’t work for us.’ So, cool. I’ll find some other way for her to hear it. So, right now, we’re just coming to attend.”

Brooks took home Entertainer of the Year at the 2017 CMA Awards, and he says attending the ceremony without the pressure of being nominated will make it even more fun. He and Yearwood have a sweet tradition for their post-awards show dinner.

"So this is going to be probably my most enjoyable CMAs yet, because I get to go with the love of my life and my best friend, and we’ll get dressed up and probably go to Taco Bell after.”

Brooks made headlines after he admitted he lip-synched his performance of "Ask Me How I Know" during the 2017 CMA Awards. In the press room afterward, he explained that his voice was simply too worn down from 12 shows in 10 days to make singing live a viable option.

"We decided to lip-sync it because my voice was just not there," he said (quote via the Tennessean), "and we wanted to represent country music the best we can."